Tuesday, July 28, 2009

We all know the saying refers to something that keeps coming back to you, that you can't get rid of.

But what is a bad penny and why does it want to keep coming back? Who made it? What is its journey like after it leaves you as it's trying to get back? What effect does it have on people (animals? nature?) around it? What happens when it returns?

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Or add a fantasy twist. Only the two of them can understand each other? She's a professional donkey whisperer? Boyfriend and girlfriend who've been cursed? Aliens who didn't quite get their disguises right?

We talked about plot having several components: an inciting moment, rising action, a climax and a denouement. One way to see how a plot can work is to build a plot skeleton, a very short story, stripped of everything except the plot.

To write this kind of story, you are limited to only seven sentences. Each sentence has a specific role.

Introduce what the main character wants and the first action he/she takes to accomplish the goal.

The results of the action the character takes from sentence 1 has to make the situation worse. The character should be farther from the goal now.

Based on the new situation, the character takes a second action to accomplish the goal.

The results of the second action the character takes from sentence 3 is to make the situation worse. The character should be even farther from the goal now.

Based on the new situation, the character takes a third and final action to accomplish the goal.

This third action either accomplishes the character’s goal, fails to accomplish the goal, or there is an unusual but oddly satisfying different result of the last action.

The denouement. This sentence wraps the story up. It could tell the reader how the character felt about the results, or provide a moral, or tell how the character’s life continued on.

After his class had a great deal of fun with this, he held a contest. When you're done, you can check out the entries.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

They deliberately don't look at what the book is about so as not to be influenced by reason and sense. ;-) The titles are being judged on their own merits.

Pick a couple of titles and write a blurb or review of the book the title inspires for you. (Note, if you're doing this with kids, read through the list first so you can make adjustments for your kids' tastes! ;-)

This year's winner: The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-Milligram Containers of Fromage Frais

A selection of past years' winners and some nominees:

The Rape-Sponge Cucumber

Strip and Knit With Style

What do Socks do?

Bombproof Your Horse

Sex After Death

Toilets That Make Compost

All Dogs Have ADHD

How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art

The Large Sieve and Its Applications

Deathing: An Intelligent Alternative for the Final Moments of Life

A God or a Bench

Children Are Like Wet Cement

People Who Don't Know They're Dead: How They Attach Themselves to Unsuspecting Bystanders and What to Do About It